Healthcare workers are at risk of exposure to pathogenic microbes via contact with bodily fluids (e.g., blood, urine, saliva, sweat, feces, vomit, breast milk, semen) or other carriers (e.g., lint, sloughed skin). The use of protective clothing (e.g., surgical gowns, surgical hoods, isolation gowns, and coveralls) that act as a barrier to bodily fluids and other carriers eliminate or reduce exposure, and therefore prevent the transfer of pathogenic microbes between, e.g., patients and healthcare workers. However, the use of defective or inappropriate protective clothing may result in the unintended penetration of a carrier through the clothing (e.g., strikethrough) and the subsequent ability for microbes present in the carrier to directly contact the wearer. Depending on the application, protective clothing may be designed to offer different levels of protection from carriers and microbes.